Stocks at New Highs, New Lows for 11/8

by Alyssa Oursler | November 8, 2012 11:40 am

The parade of third-quarter earnings continued today and, as usual, some companies fared better than others. Some stocks that have been going strong for some time got an added boost, while Q3 numbers added insult to injury for a few laggards.

Let’s take a look at one stock hitting a new 52-week high, and one finding a new 52-week low on today’s earnings news:

New High: Dillard’s

Shares of higher-end department store Dillard’s (NYSE:DDS[1]), which have been on their way up since January lows, continued to climb today. The stock gained around 6%, sending it to a new high of just under $86 and bringing its total year-to-date gains to nearly 92%.

Today’s boost was indeed helped by a strong third-quarter report. Same-store sales were the highlight, as the retailer posted a 5% gain. That dwarfed Wall Street’s expectations and beat the not-to0-shabby 3.7% gain posted by rival Macy’s (NYSE:M[2]) yesterday.

Overall, net income declined significantly year-over-year, as the company had a tough comparison thanks to a whopping tax benefit received in 2011. On an adjusted basis, though, earnings per share came in at 96 cents — 27 cents more than the consensus and twice as much as last year. Net sales also showed steady growth, gaining 4.8% to $1.45 billion.

Other retailers also posted strong third-quarter numbers this week, but were hurt by subpar forecasts. Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS[3]), for one, which targets middle-class consumers, reported before the bell[4]. Profit beat expectations, but the stock is off more than 3% as estimates for the holiday quarter[5] came in lower than expected.

Macy’s also gave a disappointing holiday quarter outlook and shares slid more than a 2% as a result. The company blamed Hurricane Sandy[6] for the weak guidance, as the storm has caused stress to both consumers and employees.

Dillard’s, on the other hand, didn’t say much at all about holiday sales — other than that it’s entering the season with confidence.

New Low: Teekay Tankers

Shipping company Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK[7]) — a spin-off of Teekay Corporation (NYSE:TK[8]) — also released third-quarter results this morning, but the numbers weren’t so pretty. The stock has fallen more than 10% on the day as a result and has shed 50% of its value since April highs. It is now trading at $3.01 after plunging as low as $2.60 early in the session.

For Q3, Teekay Tankers reported a loss of 9 cents a share — worse than the 6-cents-a-share loss expected and the 2-cent profit it brought in last year. Revenue also tumbled an ugly 12% year-over-year, coming in at $46.1 million, just above the consensus.

The company’s cash available for distribution subsequently took a hit, sliding from 15 cents a share last quarter to 12 cents a share this quarter. As a result, Teekay declared a meager dividend of 2 cents a share — quite a drop from the 11 cents a share it payed out in Q2.

Then again, in the wake of the stock’s ugly slide, that 11-cent dividend currently makes for more than a 17% yield. The company has been paying a dividend since 2008.